Looking For You
by rugphan
Summary: A Danny Phantom, Rugrats, and Calvin and Hobbes crossover. Hobbes is concerned that Calvin is growing up without him. After all, why else would Calvin and Sam be hanging out in secret so often? Why is Danny acting jealous? And why are Tommy and the rest of the babies suddenly afraid of elephants? 8th story in my Danny, Tommy, and Friends story series. Slight DxS & CxSusie.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I do not own any of these characters (except for the two cops and the zoo manager at the end of the story). Danny Phantom is owned by Butch Hartman. The Rugrats are owned by Paul Germain. Calvin and Hobbes are owned by Bill Watterson. The "tiger on the loose" joke in chapter one is based off of a Garfield comic I read once. Hope you enjoy the story! :)**

* * *

**Prologue**

**_ T_**hree-year-old Calvin ran into the store laughing, his tall stack of blond hair flying back as the wind blew against it. Today was his first trip to the zoo, and boy was he ever excited. He had seen many different animals today including penguins, bears, and zebras. But the one animal that caught his attention the most was in a pen on the right side of him in the middle of the zoo.

"Daddy," Calvin had asked, pointing to the pen, "what are those?"

His dad grinned as he lifted him onto his shoulders. "Those are tigers, Calvin. Do you want to go and see them?"

"Yeah!"

So, Calvin and his parents went to look at the tigers. Calvin loved watching them clean themselves, eating, drinking, and playing. He loved how full of liveliness the tigers were. He closed his eyes for a moment and imagined that _he_ was a tiger, running around in the jungle, running, pouncing, cleaning… Calvin smiled when he opened his eyes. He had a vivid imagination.

Calvin wouldn't let him or his parents leave the tiger pits for half an hour. It was when his mom said he could go pick out a souvenir at the zoo's store, he finally agreed to go with them.

Calvin immediately froze when he saw all of the toys around him. There were plenty on the shelves and on the counter where the lady with the cash register was. Not to mention a _ton_ of stuffed animals. He was about to take a step forward when his mom exclaimed, "Oh, look dear! Snow globes! We can get one of these for my Mom's collection."

His dad smiled at his mom and looked inside the glass counter where the snow globes were. Calvin stared at the ground madly. After all, he wanted to find a souvenir for him to take home and play with. He didn't want to stand here and look at a bunch of stupid snow globes!

Suddenly, Calvin smiled mischievously. He had a great idea. He could go look for his souvenir all by himself! After all, what was the big deal? He would just find his souvenir while his parents found the perfect snow globe for his grandma. No problem!

So, just like that, Calvin walked toward one of the aisles. When he got there, he stared around in awe. There were _so_ many toys. Alligators and crocodiles and elephants and polar bears. Key chains and books and board games. Which toy would he choose? There were too many to count!

Calvin walked down a few more isles. He glanced up and down, but he still wasn't sure about which toy he would pick. That is, until he glanced up one more time.

From the moment he saw the orangeness of his fuzzy exterior, with zig-zagging patterns of black stripes, Calvin knew. This was his zoo souvenir! Actually, it seemed like the more he _thought_ about it, the more he seemed he was going to _like_ this souvenir. The gleam in the toy's oval-shaped button eyes showed its appreciation for Calvin. And Calvin felt just the same way.

"Hi!" the stuffed tiger exclaimed.

"Hi!" Calvin grinned.

The stuffed tiger looked concerned. "What are you doing all the way down there without your parents? You look a little young to be running around the store by yourself."

Calvin shrugged. "I'm looking for a souvenir."

The stuffed tiger smiled widely. Calvin thought for a second he was going to jump off the top shelf. "Well, there's a lot of great stuff in this aisle here for kids your age. Have a look around."

Calvin nodded politely. "Thanks, but I think I've already found the souvenir I've been looking for."

"Really? What?" the stuffed tiger looked around, trying to figure out what had caught this three-year-old's eye so quickly.

Calvin laughed and pointed at him. "You silly!"

"Me? Oh, no!" The stuffed tiger waved his front paws frantically. "No! You don't want me!"

"Why not?"

"Because…" He hesitated, then continued. "I've been sitting on this shelf for a full year because the popularity of stuffed tigers decreased. All of the other kids want toy rhinos now."

"But, I don't want a rhino!" Calvin exclaimed. "I want you!"

Right after he had said that, Calvin's mom came running down the aisle. "Calvin, there you are!" She turned to her left and called, "Dear, it's alright! I found him!"

Soon enough, Calvin's dad was standing next to his wife with an exasperated expression on his face. "Goodness gracious, Calvin!" he exclaimed. "Never run off on your own like that again! You nearly gave your mother and I a heart attack!"

Calvin was now standing as stiff as a board, with his hands behind his back, shuffling his feet, and staring at the floor shamefully. "Sorry, Mommy and Daddy." Suddenly, he perked up a bit and pointed at the top shelf. "But, I found my souvenir!"

His dad smiled at his son as he carefully lifted the stuffed tiger off the shelf, and bent down to hand it to him. Calvin took the toy gratefully and hugged it. "You're even softer than I imagined." he half spoke, half whispered.

Calvin didn't let go of his souvenir all the way home, except for when his parents had to pay for it (Calvin laughed at the stuffed tiger when he was trying so hard not to growl at the lady behind the cash register for sliding him across the scanner.).

"So, Calvin," his mom asked in the car a few minutes later, "did you enjoy your trip to the zoo?"

"Uh, huh." Calvin replied, not taking his eyes off of his new toy.

His mom chuckled, looking at her son in the rear view mirror. "Have you given a name to your tiger yet?"

Calvin nodded happily, quickly glancing up at his parents. "Hobbes!"

"That's an interesting name." his dad replied, not taking his eyes off the road. "What made you pick that one?"

"Because that's what he _told_ me his name is!" Calvin stated simply, giving Hobbes a hug. "And I'm going to love him forever and ever!"

Hobbes grinned proudly and hugged his new friend back.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Back to the Zoo**

**_S_**ix-year-old Calvin walked down into the woods angrily, Hobbes by his side. Calvin's brows were furrowed, and he was glaring at the ground. Hobbes was just glancing at him silently. After all, when Calvin was in one of his 'moods', it was best just to leave him alone for a few minutes.

When those few minutes ticked by, Hobbes turned to his friend and said, "Aw, cheer up, Calvin! So your Mom kicked us out of the house. It's not _that_ big of a deal!"

"Yes it is!" Calvin exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air. "I mean, I was just sitting in the living room minding my own business, when Mom came in, started yelling at me, and threw us out!"

Hobbes sighed. "No. What really happened was you ran into the living room where your Mom was working, started singing 'On Top of Spaghetti' at the top of your lungs, and _then_ she started yelling at you and threw us out."

"Hey!" Calvin said in defense. "Rare song sparrows can't help but show off their wonderful talent!"

Hobbes grinned, and glanced up at the sky. He knew Calvin was going to go after him for this, but he didn't care. "Are you sure the rare song sparrow wasn't singing a made up song called 'I'm a Little Off Pitch'?"

It took a second for Calvin to get the joke. But when he did, he furrowed his brows and took after Hobbes who was now running further into the woods, laughing all the way.

When Calvin finally caught up to Hobbes, he was all out of breath. "O-Okay!" he panted. "Y-you win!"

Hobbes smiled, and shrugged. "I always do."

Calvin grinned at his stuffed tiger. "Come on! Let's ride the wagon over to Danny's house. I'm sure _he'll_ come up with something for us to do!"

* * *

**_D_**anny Fenton was sitting in his living room trying to teach his playmate Tommy Pickles how to play a card game. And he decided the game should be 'Go Fish'. After all, that was his first card game he learned to play when he was younger. And it was the easiest card game in the world to him as well.

"Okay, Tommy." Danny started. "You have your five cards in your hands right now, and you can't show them to me."

Tommy nodded. "Gotcha."

"Now, if you find any pictures that look the same, you put them down on the floor face up."

Tommy grinned as he placed a pair of panda bear cards on the floor. "Okay. Now whats?"

"Now," Danny continued, "you ask me if I got a certain card from your five cards in your hands."

"Okay. Um…do you gots a zebra?"

"Nope. Go fish."

"Goes fish? I thoughts we was playing a card game, Danny."

"It means pick up a card from the pile in the middle, Tommy."

"Oh!" Tommy picked up another card. "Now whats?"

"Now see if it matches any of the five cards in your hands. If it does, you set those cards down with your panda bear cards. If not, you get to keep it. Whoever gets rid of their cards first is the winner."

Tommy grinned. "Sounds like fun!"

Danny smiled as well. Since Tommy had gotten a bit older, he was starting to get things more. And he was glad he was. "And when you get older, you can teach this to your baby brother, Tommy."

"Hey, yeah!" Tommy exclaimed. He frowned, then asked, "How many more months until he's borned, _now_?"

"Three and a half mon-,"

Ding dong! The doorbell at the front door was ringing.

"I'll be right back, Tommy." Danny excused himself, walking over to answer the door. When he opened it, he got a big surprise.

"Did somebody call for help?" a boy with a blue hood with a blanket attached tied around his neck, and who was dressed and talked a lot like Calvin asked.

Danny laughed. "Calvin, I know it's you!"

"Who is this Calvin of which you speak?" Calvin asked, in a deep and heroic voice. "I'm Stupendous Man!"

"Okay, then, Stupendous Man!" Danny exclaimed, looking at him slyly. "I'll go get you some orange juice. You must be _thirsty_." He smiled when he saw Calvin caught off guard. Calvin _hated _orange juice.

When Danny came back with a full glass of orange juice, he held it out to Calvin. "Here. Drink up!"

Calvin suddenly gasped, and landed on his back, making fake choking noises. "A-Are you t-trying to p-p-_poison_ me? Orange juice is like kryptonite to Stupendous Man!"

Danny chuckled. "Kryptonite?" He smiled, glancing over to his right. "If you're not Calvin, then how come Hobbes is sitting on the railing?"

Calvin gasped as he turned to glance at his stuffed tiger. "Ahhh!" he cried. He turned around. "Maw! There's a _tiger_ on the loose!"

Hobbes rolled his eyes and jumped off of the railing. "Oh, give it up, Calvin! He's _obviously_ not believing you!"

Calvin sighed. "Your right." He pulled off his hood, and turned to Hobbes. "Maybe we should've gotten some real kryptonite."

"Kryptonite is a weakness for people who have _superpowers_." Danny explained. "Now, since you and I both know none of us have superpowers, I'm going to call Sam up and see if she wants to come over."

"See?" Calvin suddenly exclaimed. "See? Hobbes owes me a dollar!"

"What?" Danny asked, puzzled.

Calvin didn't get a chance to answer, because Tommy came toddling over. "Hi'ya, Calvin! Hi'ya, Hobbes!"

"Hey, Tommy!" Calvin exclaimed.

"How's it going?" Hobbes asked.

Tommy shrugged. "Fine, I guess." He glanced around at his friends. "What's going on over here?"

"Well, I'm trying to call Sam to see if she wants to come over and play." Danny explained, dialing his best friend's number.

"And Hobbes owes me a dollar!" Calvin grinned proudly.

"I don't remember making any bets, Calvin." Hobbes said, folding his arms across his chest. "Now, stop goofing around, and let's play with Tommy while Danny's calling Sam."

"Okay." Calvin turned to Tommy. "So, what do you want to play?"

"Well, me and Danny was playing goes fish. But, we can play something else if you want." Tommy said, politely.

Hobbes shook his head. "Go fish sounds fine. Right, Calvin?"

Calvin nodded. "Sure!"

"Great!" Tommy exclaimed, toddling toward the living room. "But one of you has gots to shuffle the cards. I don't do it so good."

* * *

**_ S_**am immediately picked up the phone when she saw the caller ID. She was sitting on her bed, holding a small slip of paper in her hands. "Hello?"

"Hey, Sam!" Danny replied. He paused. "Do you got your ticket for the surprise trip to the zoo tomorrow for us and the babies?"

"Yep." Sam nodded excitedly. "I'm _so_ excited! I think it's a great way to bond with the babies before the new member of the Pickles family is born. Plus, they get to learn all sorts of things about all of the animals." She paused, then asked, "Did you invite Calvin and Hobbes to come with us like your parents suggested?"

"Not yet. But, I'm going to in a few minutes."

"Okay."

"Say, do you want to come over and play? Tommy and Calvin and Hobbes are here right now, actually."

"Sure! I'll be there in about five minutes."

"Great! I'll see you then!"

"Okay, then! Bye!"

Sam placed the phone back on the receiver, and ran out of her bedroom door.

* * *

**_"W_**oo, hoo! Faster horsy! Faster!"

After a few more games of go fish, Calvin suggested they should play cops and robbers. Except this game was a little bit different. Instead of running around the house, they decided to play it western style. Tommy was the cop, and Calvin was the robber. Hobbes was Calvin's horse, while Danny was Tommy's trusty steed.

Danny was now looking like he was going to collapse. "I don't think I can go any faster, Tommy." He took a deep breath. "Besides, I'm a little wiped out."

"Yeah." Hobbes panted. "Me too. Let's play something else."

Calvin climbed off of Hobbes's back. "Okay. What do we want to-,"

Ding dong!

"Oh, that must be Sam!" Danny exclaimed, as Tommy slid off of him. "I'll get it!"

Calvin smirked as he watched his friend open the door. And of course, Sam was grinning at the doorway.

"Hey, guys!" she exclaimed. "Sorry, I'm late. I was just packing a few things." Sam patted her backpack for emphasis. "So, anything going on?"

"We were just thinking of something to do." Calvin replied, walking up to his friend. He held out his right knuckle. "What's up, Sam?"

"Hey, Calvin!" Sam exclaimed, touching his right knuckle with hers. She and Calvin had become close friends over the past couple months. "Did Danny tell you-,"

"That we taught Tommy how to play go fish?" Danny quickly interrupted. He looked Sam in the eye, and gestured his eyes toward Tommy. "Yes, we played a couple of games."

"Oh!" Sam nodded, getting the hint. "Right! I just thought you'd like to know that!"

Calvin raised an eyebrow, while Tommy nodded proudly.

Danny grabbed a pencil and a pad of paper by the telephone, and wrote down:

We're taking the babies on a surprise trip to the zoo tomorrow. We were wondering if you wanted to come along. My Mom called your Mom and she said it was okay.

Danny handed the note to Calvin, while Sam distracted Tommy by playing another game of go fish. Calvin quickly read it, smiled, took the pencil from Danny's hand, and wrote:

As long as Hobbes can come too, I'll be there. I need to figure out what to get him for a friendship present. Saturday marks the third anniversary of when I first got him from the zoo.

Danny read Calvin's note when he handed it to him. Afterwards, Danny glanced up to see Hobbes sitting with Tommy and Sam, watching them play another round of go fish. Figuring they were out of earshot, Danny asked, "Really?"

Calvin nodded. "The last couple years, I've given him great presents. But this year," he shrugged, frowning, "I'm stuck."

"Well," Danny said, "maybe we could help you. Just ask Sam. She seems to have gotten to know you better in the past couple of months."

"You think she'd be able to help me?"

Danny nodded. "Absolutely."

Calvin grinned. "Thanks, Danny! I'm sure with our two brains, we can come up with something!"

Danny smiled. "Sure!"

As Calvin walked over to his friends, Danny suddenly frowned. Sam helping Calvin. Why did he suddenly feel so weird about this? Danny smiled, then shook the feeling off. 'I just must be feeling excited about the zoo trip tomorrow.' he thought. 'I'm just fine.' He smiled, then went to join his friends.

* * *

**_"H_**ey, you guys!" Danny exclaimed. "Guess what?"

He was sitting in the playpen at the Pickles' home with Tommy and his friends Chuckie Finster, and Phil and Lil Deville. They were rolling Tommy's big star ball around, looking bored.

"What is it, Danny?" Tommy asked, trying to look like he was having a fun time.

"Is it some big news, like we're gonna play a different game?" Phil asked eagerly. "Because _anything_ is better than _this_!"

"Philip!" Lil glared at her twin brother.

Tommy sighed. "It's okay, Lil. I've been kind of bored of this game since…well, since we started it."

Chuckie glanced back up at Danny. "Anyways, Danny, you was gonna says something?"

"Well," Danny was grinning now, "your parents and my parents talked about it for quite awhile now, and we figured I'd tell you all now."

"What is it?" Lil asked, excitedly.

"We're going to the zoo later today!"

All of the babies cheered.

"I always wanted to go to the zoo!" Tommy exclaimed.

"I can't wait to see all of the baby aminals!" Lil cooed.

"And eat nummy foods!" Chuckie added.

"What about the toys?" Phil asked. He turned to Danny. "There _are_ toys there, aren't there Danny?"

Danny laughed. "Yes, Phil. There's plenty of toys there. Now, I've got to call Calvin, Hobbes, Sam, Susie, and Tucker. They're coming too."

"Cool!" Tommy said, as his playmate stepped out of the playpen.

Danny grinned politely as Tommy's older cousin walked into the room just as he was about to enter the hallway. "Hi, Angelica!"

"Hey, Fenton." Angelica mumbled, not looking up at him. "Now, will you pipe down! I've got to finish brushing Cynthia's hair!" She held up her toy doll with missing chunks of hair sticking out in Danny's face. "She's gots some _nasty_ split ends!"

"Whatever, Angelica." Danny replied. "If you need me for anything, I'm using the telephone down the hall."

Angelica rolled her eyes. "Since when have I ever needed you for _anything,_ Fenton?" She couldn't tell whether Danny didn't hear her, or just completely ignored her. He was already walking down the hallway.

Angelica turned around, and glanced at the playpen. Tommy was on top of Chuckie, while Phil and Lil were arguing who was going to sit on top of whom. 'Dumb babies.' she thought, walking up toward the playpen. 'Do I have to do _everything_ around here?'

"I'm going to be the cowboy!" Phil cried to his sister. "_You_ be the horsy!"

"No!" Lil said back. "_You_ be the horsy and _I'll_ be the cowgirl!"

"No, Lillian! You're the horsy!"

"No, Philip! You're the horsy!"

"You're the horsy!"

"You're the horsy!"

"You are!"

"You are!"

"Will you dumb babies be quiet!" Angelica yelled. "What the _heck_ are you guys doing anyway? Not that I care."

"We're practicing riding horsies for the trip to the zoo later on."

Of course. The zoo trip was today. Angelica rolled her eyes. "Don't you dummies know _anything_? The zoo don't gots horsies!"

"They don't?" Tommy asked.

"Of course not!"

"Then, what kind of animals do they gots?"

"You know, elephants and stuffs." Angelica said, turning to walk away.

"Elephants?" Phil asked, puzzled. "What's an elephant?"

"Oh they're-," Angelica suddenly cut off. She had a brilliant plan forming in her mind. She smiled slyly. "Oh, nothing really. Just really big aminals that have huge noses and _stomp on babies_."

"WHAT?!" Chuckie screamed in fear.

Tommy's brows furrowed. "That's not true, Angelica! Danny would _never_ takes us somewhere where it isn't safe! Isn't that right you guys?"

"Uh, huh!" Chuckie nodded.

"Yep!" Phil said, determinedly.

"That's right!" Lil exclaimed.

Angelica was expecting that to happen. 'These babies are too smart for their own good.' she thought frantically. Suddenly, she smiled at them slyly, quickly thinking up a plan B. "You're right, babies. Probably not. Except I saw it on the news. Elephants just started stomping on babies recently. Nobody knows why."

"S-So," Chuckie stuttered, "d-does that m-mean Danny doesn't k-know about the elephants s-squishing b-b-babies?"

Angelica shook her head in fake sadness. "I'm afraid not." She sighed. "I'm sorry babies."

Phil suddenly turned to Tommy. "Well, maybe you should tell Danny about the elephants Tommy. Then maybe he'll change his mind about taking us to the zoo."

Tommy nodded, reaching into his diaper. "Good idea, Phil." He rummaged through it a bit until he found what he had been looking for. His blue plastic screwdriver! He started to slip it between the posts where the hook locked the playpen in place.

"Stop it!" Angelica cried, waving her arms out in front of her for emphasis. "You can't tell Danny that!"

"Why not, Angelica?" Tommy asked, pausing from what he was doing.

"Because," she quickly glanced behind her to make sure the coast was clear, "and I hate to tell you this, but, Danny gets sad _real_ easily."

"What do you mean, Angelica?" Lil asked.

"Well," Angelica pretended to hesitate, then turned around, "I don't know if I should say…" She grinned when the babies started pleading for her to tell them what was going on with their friend.

"Come on, Angelica!"

"Peas?"

"We promless we won't tell anybodys!"

"Honest!"

Angelica shrugged and turned around to face the babies once more. "Okay. But, don't say I didn't warn you!" She leaned in toward the babies and said, "I heard Danny crying in the bathroom once when one of his friends didn't go with him to the playground."

"Who was his friend?" Tommy asked.

"His name was…Bob!"

"Bob?" Phil questioned. "I never heard of him."

"That's because Bob was so upset that Danny was upset that he didn't go to the playground with him, that they aren't friends anymore!"

Chuckie gasped. "Poor, Danny!"

Angelica nodded seriously. "Yep. That's why you should just go along with Danny's plan, that way you don't hurt his feelings."

"We won't tells him, Angelica!" Tommy exclaimed. "We promless!"

"I'm glad to see that you're sticking up for your friend, babies." Angelica chuckled menacingly to herself once she was out of the babies hearing range.

Soon, Danny came walking back to the playpen. "Well, Sam, Susie, Tucker, and Calvin and Hobbes are coming over no-," He paused, staring at the babies' hesitant expressions on their faces. "Are you guys okay?"

"Well, actually-," Phil started, before Lil elbowed him in the side.

"Of course we are!"

"Never betterer!" Chuckie exclaimed.

"We're just really excited about our trip to the zoo." Tommy explained.

Danny shrugged. "Well, okay then."

* * *

**_"B_**ye, Mom!" Calvin called, carrying his stuffed tiger in his arms. "Hobbes and I are going to the zoo!"

"Okay, Calvin!" His mom peeked around the kitchen entry. "But remember to be back by four. I promised Susie's mom you'd be here."

Calvin nodded. "Okay!" He started walking toward the door, when he suddenly froze when he just realized what his mom had just said. He turned around. "Wait a minute!" he exclaimed, running into the kitchen where his mom was now cutting up some vegetables. "Did you just say _Susie Derkins_ is coming over?"

"Yes, Calvin." His mom said, not glancing up. "That's why I'm making salad and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner tonight!"

"_Tonight_?" Calvin asked, true panic in his voice. "You mean she's coming to _eat_ here too?"

"Calvin, I told you this a million times! Susie's parents had to go to an old friend's funeral, so I told them Susie could stay here for the weekend!"

"The _weekend_?" Calvin asked, exasperated. "Mom, how _could_ you? The weekend is my _free_ time! I _need_ my personal space!"

"Calvin, for the last time," his mom said, "I'm not changing my mind. So either suck it up, or you're not going to the zoo today! Understand?"

Calvin sighed. "Yes, Mom."

"Good. You can go now."

Calvin's brows furrowed even more as he left the house. "What did I do that was so bad, that ended up for me to deserve _this_?" he mumbled.

But Hobbes on the other hand, was grinning widely. "Oh, boy!" he exclaimed. "Susie's coming over! We can play lots of games, and watch movies, and maybe we'll get tons and tons of smooches!"

"Yuck!" Calvin grimaced in disgust. "Why do you always have to _say_ that?"

Hobbes laughed all the way to Tommy's house.

* * *

**_"S_**o," Tucker said, turning to Danny, "what are you planning to get for a souvenir?"

The kids were just entering the zoo gateway. Danny was pushing Tommy and Chuckie in their two-person stroller while Sam was pushing Phil and Lil's. Angelica, Calvin, Hobbes, Susie, and Tucker were walking on either side of Danny and Sam. Their parents were following closely behind.

Danny shrugged. "I don't know." He grinned widely. "Maybe I'll get myself one of those stuffed rhinos. I've heard they're pretty popular."

Tucker nodded. "That sounds good. I'll probably get one of those zoo animal games for my Play-Pal Advance!"

"Oh, please." Angelica interrupted, rolling her eyes. "Stuffed animals and Play-Pal games? That's _baby_ stuff! Board games are the way to go!"

Sam leaned in toward Danny. "Says the girl who carries a doll everywhere she goes!"

Danny laughed.

"Hey!" Angelica exclaimed, holding Cynthia protectively against her chest. "I heard that!"

Susie Carmichael, Tommy's neighbor from across the street, closed her eyes and shook her head. "Oh, lighten up Angelica! You know Sam's kidding! And besides," she added, "we're in a place with a lot of aminals to discover!"

"I don't _want_ to see a bunch of stupid aminals." Angelica mumbled, brushing Cynthia's hair.

Hobbes, meanwhile, was staring at Calvin with a confused expression on his face. "Might I ask _why_ you bought a large sized root beer while we're just entering the park?"

Calvin, who was sipping away, paused, swallowed, and glanced up at his best friend. "Because, I'm really thirsty and there's a lot of animals to see. I don't want to get dehydrated in the middle of our journey!"

"I don't think you quite thought this plan through."

"Why?"

"Oh," Hobbes replied, rolling his eyes, "no reason. Just promise me you won't drink that all at once."

"Don't worry." Calvin said, coolly. "This is a fool proof plan! Nothing can go wrong! Now," he continued, "I'll just take a few more sips and I'll be done for awhile." He took five more abnormally huge sips as he continued to walk on.

Hobbes sighed, and followed him.

* * *

**_"H_**ey you guys!" Tucker exclaimed. "Look at all of the fish!"

"Fish?" Calvin asked anxiously. But inside he was screaming, 'Get me out of here!' Calvin looked like he was dancing, but really, he was jumping up and down all over the place.

"I _told_ you not to drink that root beer all at once!" Hobbes exclaimed. "But, once again you don't listen to me! One of these days you're going to listen to me, and you'll be grateful!"

"Alright!" Calvin had to refrain from yelling. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you and I should have!" He was standing cross-legged now. "I'm going to see if we can take a rest stop." He quickly ran across the hall to where Danny and Tommy and Chuckie were standing.

"Danny," Calvin started, "do you think we can make a quick bathroom stop? I think I drank too much soda and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has."

Chuckie nodded. "I gots to goes too."

Danny nodded. "Sure, Calvin. Me and Tommy will walk over to Hobbes, and we'll wait for you guys."

"Thanks!"

He quickly ran out the door to where the restrooms were, Chuckie following close behind.

* * *

**_ C_**alvin saw something when he came out of the restroom. At first, he could hardly believe his eyes, but now that he knew it was real, he couldn't bear but running as fast he could to the fish aquarium. Chuckie ran after him yelling for him to slow down, but Calvin kept running anyway.

He kept his eyes peeled looking around eagerly.

"Hey, Calvin!" Sam exclaimed. "Check out these seahor-, Whoa!"

Calvin just grabbed Sam's left hand, and was practically dragging her outside. "Calvin, what's going on? Is everything alright?"

"No!"

"Did something happen to Chuck?"

"No!"

"Then where are we going?"

"You'll see!"

Calvin ran outside where the tiger pins were, and stopped, panting. "L-Look up at t-the sign."

Sam glanced up at the sign. It said in huge letters:

TIGER PITS

**CLOSING SATURDAY**

"The tiger pits are closing Saturday?" She raised an eyebrow wondering what the big deal was.

"Sam," Calvin started, "don't you get it? He pointed at the pits, where the tigers were playing happily. This is the same zoo I went to three years ago! The one I told you about! The one that made me choose Hobbes out of any other friends in the souvenir store!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Sorry it took so long you guys! I've been super busy lately. My friend and I wrote the random argument between Calvin and Susie in this chapter, so I'm giving credit to my friend for the argument part of this chapter as well! :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy the next chapter! :D**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Secrets and Jealousy**

**_ "A_**re you guys alright?" Danny asked the babies, a look of concern spread across his face. "You guys seem quiet today."

Danny had pushed Tommy and Chuckie's stroller over toward Phil and Lil's. They were still waiting for Calvin and Chuckie to come back from the restroom. They had already been gone for about five minutes.

Tommy glanced over at Phil and Lil with a look that said, _Remember what Angelica said. We can't tell Danny we don't wanna goes and see the elephants!_

Phil and Lil nodded in unison.

"Everything's great, Danny!" Tommy exclaimed, trying to keep a huge grin on his face. But, instead, it looked like his face was about to collapse.

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? You guys seem a little… tense."

"Oh, yeah! We're just fine!" Phil exclaimed.

"Sure!" Lil said, nodding.

"Absolutely!" Tommy added.

'Something isn't right here.' Danny thought. 'There's something going on that they're not telling me.' He was about to question the babies some more, when Chuckie came running toward them.

"Hey, Chuck!" Danny greeted. He raised his eyebrow once more. "Why were you running? It's not that far a walk and you knew we were waiting for you."

Chuckie took a deep breath, then replied, "I don't know. Ask Calvin."

"Calvin?" Danny's eyebrows went up in surprise. "What's up with Calvin?"

"I don't know! But he was in a awful hurry!"

Hobbes, who had been standing there quietly, said, "That's strange! Usually when Calvin runs like that he's pretty eager about something. But," he added, glancing around, "I don't know what could've gotten him so riled up like that."

Phil and Lil grinned at each other.

"We saw Calvin running back here." Phil said.

"You did?"

"Yeah!" Lil said, pointing in the direction where the seahorses were. "Calvin grabbed Sam's hand and practically dragged her outta here!"

"He ran out with Sam?" Hobbes glanced down the hallway where Calvin had ran out earlier. "That's funny. I didn't even see him come in. And normally he says hi to me."

Noticing the sad look on Hobbes's face, Tommy smiled and exclaimed, "Cheer up, Hobbes! Maybe Calvin sawed something cool and was wanting to show somebodys!"

"Yeah, but," Hobbes started, glancing up in the direction of the hallway again, "normally Calvin takes me along too."

* * *

**_S_**usie Derkins was not happy. She had already been at Calvin's house for a day, and Calvin _still_ wasn't paying any attention to her. Not that she would care either way. She was just hoping she would be able to play and have fun all weekend. Instead, she was watching the paint peel on the living room wall.

Susie sighed loudly. She had enough of this. She turned around and walked toward the stairs. She figured Calvin wouldn't want her up in his room, and quite frankly, she was afraid to know what was up there anyway. So, she decided to call him from the bottom of the stairs.

"Calvin, what are you doing up there?"

Susie heard some shuffling of some things before Calvin answered. "Be quiet, Susie! I'm looking for something!"

"For what?" Susie questioned. "You've been upstairs for an hour already! What could be so important that you have to find it right this minute?"

"It's just important, okay?" Calvin replied in an annoyed tone.

Susie rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

She was startled by the doorbell ringing.

Susie ran into the kitchen where Calvin's mom was chopping up carrots on a cutting board. "Mrs. Calvin's Mom? The doorbell's ringing."

"Thank you, Susie. I'll have Calvin get it." She turned around and yelled, "Calvin, could you get the door? I'm chopping up vegetables for dinner tonight!"

"Sure, Mom!"

"Thank you!"

As Susie stepped out of the kitchen, she heard Calvin's voice calling her from upstairs again. "Susie, could you get the door?"

Susie threw her hands up in the air angrily. "For Pete's sake!" she yelled, stomping toward the front door. "I'm his guest," she mumbled, "and he's treating me like his personal slave." She blinked in surprise when she opened the door. A boy about her age with messy raven black hair, holding Hobbes was standing underneath the doorway. And apparently, he was just as surprised to see her as well.

"Hi." he greeted.

"Er, hi." Susie replied, politely.

"Um," the boy started, "I was kind of expecting Calvin to answer the door. Unless," he stared at her for a moment, then asked, "did you put on a wig or something Calvin?"

Susie raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying that I look scary or something? Because if you are-,"

"No! No!" the boy exclaimed, waving his right hand in defense. "I'm sorry. It's just that, your face looks a lot like Calvin's."

Susie raised her eyebrow once more. Not in offense this time.

The boy groaned, knowing he had said the wrong thing again. "Look, I'm sorry if I offended you in anyway. You see, I'm not the greatest at introducing myself, and-,"

"No worries." Susie said, cutting him off. "Come on in. I'm sure Calvin will be down here in a minute." She was still surprised that Calvin had an actual friend who _wasn't_ Hobbes.

The boy grinned in relief. "Gee, thanks." He quickly wiped his feet and entered, shutting the door behind him. He extended his right hand out. "I'm Danny by the way."

Susie gladly shook it. "Susie."

"Oh, so _you're_ Susie!" He laughed. "Calvin's told me a _lot_ about you."

"Like what?"

"Er-,"

"Forget it." Susie paused, then asked, "So, how long have you known Calvin for?"

Danny shrugged. "Only for a few months. I was babysitting Hobbes for Calvin because he said he had something really important to do last night. Right, Hobbes?"

Susie stared at the stuffed tiger in his arms, already expecting no answer. And sure enough, it didn't come.

"Oh, don't be so glum." Danny said comforting the stuffed tiger. "Calvin would never leave you."

Another pause. Susie glanced at Danny and could've sworn she saw his cheeks turn a bit red.

"T-That's not the point." he stuttered. "The point is, he probably had something urgent that came up, and Sam was the first person he happened to find."

Another pause.

"Well, I'm sure there's a simple explanation for this!"

"What's going on?"

Susie turned around to see Calvin running down the stairs.

"Well, thanks for _finally_ making it down here!" she exclaimed.

Calvin ignored her, and exchanged greetings with Danny and Hobbes. Then he said, "Listen, I hope you guys don't mind, but Danny, could you please watch Hobbes for one more night?"

"How come?" Danny asked.

"I-," Calvin started to answer, but then the doorbell rang once again. He quickly ran to get it.

Susie glanced over to see a girl, also with raven black hair, behind the door.

"You ready to go, Sam?" Calvin asked.

"Ready as ever!" Sam replied.

Susie glanced over at Danny. "Do you know this person?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah. Sam's my best friend." He wasn't trying to show it, but inside of him, he was feeling like someone grabbed his heart and ripped it out of his chest. Sam had always told him when she had plans with someone, and now…what the heck was going on? Why did Calvin want to hang out with Sam in private all of the sudden?

Danny glanced back over at Susie. She was angry. "Oh, I see!" she exclaimed, stomping toward Calvin.

Calvin raised an eyebrow up at her. "What?"

"What do you mean, what?" she asked. "I've been here for a full day, and you'd rather hang out with Sam than with me!" She turned to face Sam. "No offense or anything."

"None taken." Sam replied. After all, she had heard all of the Calvin-Susie stories.

Calvin rolled his eyes. "Well, no _duh_, Susie!" he exclaimed. "Even _I_ thought you would figure that out!"

Meanwhile, Hobbes was standing there, watching Calvin and Susie argue, gloomily, while Danny felt like he was going to barf if he kept watching any longer. That didn't stop him from watching the argument anyhow.

"Oh, yeah?" Susie asked, angrily. "Well, you're just a big old jerk face, that's what you are! See if I _ever_ play with you again!"

"Again?" Calvin asked. "I never played with you once!"

"Well, good! Because it's never going to happen again!"

"Good! And to show you that we won't ever be friends anymore, I'll throw a water balloon in your face!"

"If you do that, I'll throw a banana peel in your face!"

"Well, if you do that, I'll…I'll…" Calvin stuttered. He suddenly grinned mischievously. "…I'll take Mr. Bun prisoner!"

Susie gasped. After all, why would Calvin do such a thing to her stuffed rabbit? "Oh, yeah? Well, you're just a monkey butt face!"

"Well, you're just a slimy toed eel!"

Susie growled. "If you insult me one more time, I'll tell Danny you wet the bed when you were younger!"

Calvin gasped, then lowered his voice. "How do you know about that?" he asked, his eyes widening in fear.

Susie burst out laughing. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "You _actually_ wet the bed when you were younger?"

"Um…no?"

After Susie got all of the giggles out of her she said, "Well, you're still a pile of… potato chips…"

This time, it was Calvin's turn to laugh. "Potato chips?" He giggled some more. "That's all you could come up with?"

"Well, let's see you try to come up with something better!"

"Okay! You're G.R.O.S.S.! A part of the Get Rid Of Slimy girlS!"

"Oooh! I'm _so_ insulted!"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Double yeah!"

Danny leaned in toward Hobbes and whispered. "Where is this argument going again?"

Hobbes shook his head slowly, grinning, his gloominess momentarily forgotten. "I have no idea." he answered.

"Do these kind of arguments happen _everyday_?"

"Pretty much."

"Wow. I don't know how you can handle this everyday."

"Honestly, I really don't know either!"

Finally, after a few more minutes of ridiculous arguing, Calvin said, "You know what? This is stupid! I have more important things to be doing right now than dealing with you!"

Susie threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. "Fine, then, Calvin! Leave me here to be bored all day!"

"Alright, then!" Calvin grabbed Sam's hand, and pulled her out the door. "Come on, Sam! We've got work to do!"

He slammed the door behind him.

* * *

**_S_**usie was now sitting up in the woods in Calvin's backyard. Tears were streaming down her face. She took a few shaking breaths and wiped the tears off of her face as she saw Danny come running up the hill toward her with Hobbes in his arms. He had a mixture of relief and concern on his face when he saw Susie hunched over with her back against a tree.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

Susie sniffed. "I'm fine."

"Okay, then." He picked up a stick and started fiddling with it.

A few more minutes of silence passed before Danny jumped about a foot in the air because of Susie yelling, "HOW CAN YOU JUST SIT THERE AND FIDDLE WITH THAT STICK WHEN I'M OBVIOUSLY UPSET ABOUT SOMETHING?!"

"B-But," Danny stuttered, "y-you just said-,"

"FORGET WHAT I JUST SAID! WHEN A GIRL LOOKS UPSET AND SHE SAYS NOTHING'S WRONG, THERE'S _ALWAYS_ SOMETHING WRONG! AWAYS! GOT IT?" She then burst out into tears again.

Danny stared at her for a minute before saying, "It's about Calvin isn't it?"

Susie suddenly stopped crying, then looked up at him. "H-How do you know?"

Danny suddenly froze, deep in thought. "I don't know. I guess I just thought that was what was upsetting you."

Susie sighed. "Well, you got that right. Why doesn't Calvin ever want to play with me? Can't he see that I want to be friends with him? I've tried everything!"

Danny gave her a small smile. "You've just got to learn how to see things in Calvin's perspective."

Susie raised an eyebrow up in puzzlement. "What do you mean exactly by _Calvin's perspective_?"

"I mean, you've got to learn to see the world the way Calvin sees the world." Danny answered.

Susie chuckled. "Trust me, the way Calvin sees the world is a weird mish-mash of random stuff. And over _half_ of them are either really stupid or pointless."

"Er," Danny hesitated, then said, "that's not Calvin's perspective. That's _your_ perspective."

"Oh. Right." A minute of silence passed between the two of them before she asked, "Then what exactly _do_ you mean?"

Danny laughed. "All I can say is, do something Calvin would enjoy. Then you _just_ might see things in a whole new light." He glanced at her. "Does that make any sense?"

Susie shrugged. "I guess."

"Good." He stood up, lifted Hobbes back into his arms, and said, "I'd better head home. My Mom said I had to get back by lunchtime."

"Okay." Susie stood up as well. "Nice meeting you, Danny!"

"Thanks! You too!"

As Danny and Hobbes walked down the hill, and exited the woods, the stuffed tiger turned to his friend. "Why did you tell Susie to see things in a different perspective?"

Danny grinned. "I figure if Susie starts playing with Calvin more, you'll get to join in the fun!"

Hobbes smiled widely. "That's great!"

Danny nodded. "Yeah. That, and I figured Calvin will be less distracted by Sam to do anyth-," His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he glanced up at Hobbes, realizing what he had just said. "Uh… uh… I mean…"

Hobbes's grin got even wider. "You're not just trying to help _me_ out here, _are_ you?"

Danny chuckled nervously. "W-What do you mean?" he asked, his cheeks turning a little pink.

"I think you do know!" Hobbes replied in a sing-song voice.

"No. I-I really don't." Danny hoped Hobbes couldn't see that his cheeks were getting redder and redder by the minute.

"You _like _Sam!"

"No I don't!"

"Yes. You do."

"Hobbes, we're five years old! That's disgusting!"

"So? Calvin's six, and he li-,"

"Hey, Danny!"

Danny jumped at the sound of Sam's voice. "J-Jeez!" he panted, turning around to see her and Calvin walking toward them. "Where did you guys come from?"

Sam laughed and shook her head. "Again with the jumping, Danny?" she asked. She glanced at Calvin. "He's _always_ doing that!"

Calvin laughed, and turned to Hobbes. "So, what have you guys been doing all morning?"

"Well," Hobbes started, glancing at Danny and back at Calvin, "actually, Danny was up in the woods comforting Susie."

"Comforting?" Calvin raised an eyebrow at Danny. He was trying to sound as casual as he could, but he could've sworn he heard his own voice crack from suspicion. Hopefully nobody noticed.

But, unfortunately, Hobbes did. "Yes, Calvin. _Comforting_. After you left with Sam earlier today, Susie ran into the woods. When Danny and I finally found her awhile ago, she was _crying_. _Crying_, Calvin. If I were you, I think you'd better go and talk to her. She's still up there."

With that, Hobbes started walking toward the house.

Calvin sighed, annoyed. "Hang on to this." he said, handing Sam a sheet of paper. "Hobbes is right. I'd better go and find Susie. If there's one thing I hate doing, it's making a girl cry." He started walking into the deep woods.

Now, it was just Danny and Sam standing there.

"So," Danny said casually, "what's with the sheet of paper?"

Sam's expression was a mixture of surprise and nervousness. "Oh, this?" she asked, glancing down at the sheet of paper and hiding it behind her back. "It's nothing!"

Danny raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Nothing, huh?" he asked. "Then why are you hiding it behind your back?"

"No reason."

Danny stood there trying to read Sam's blank expression, when his heart started pounding as loud and as hard as it could. He had a hunch, but he wasn't sure if he was right about it. So, he decided to ask Sam.

"Does this have to do with anything that happened today with you and Calvin?"

"Maybe."

Danny's stomach felt like it was tied into a million knots.

"Danny? Danny?"

"Huh?" he asked, startled back to reality by Sam's voice once again.

"Are you okay? You don't look so good."

Danny chuckled nervously. "Don't worry, Sam! I'm totally fine!"

That, and he felt like he was going to barf again.

"Are you sure?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Absolutely!"

'Yeah, except I feel like I'm going to hurl.' he added in his thoughts.

"Well," Sam grinned, "okay then!" She turned around, about to head home. "I'll see you later, Danny!"

"Yeah, okay." Danny replied, feeling his heart sink lower and lower.

* * *

**_M_**eanwhile, Calvin was searching for Susie in the woods. He knew he needed to apologize for whatever he did. After all, he may be a bit of a trouble maker sometimes, but he absolutely _hated_ making people cry. Even if it was Susie.

The only problem was, no matter where Calvin searched, he just couldn't find her! He knew these woods inside and out, and if he didn't find Susie soon… He shuddered. He would be in _so_ much trouble!

* * *

**_L_**ittle did Calvin know, Danny was sitting on the soft grass gloomily, Hobbes was lying on Calvin's bed staring up at the roof sadly, and Susie was hiding from Calvin and watching him from a tree.

'Why does Sam like Calvin so much?' Danny thought. 'What does she see in him?'

At the same time, Susie was thinking, 'Well, if Calvin rather hang out with Sam than with me, that fine! I don't care! I just need to see what Calvin sees! But how am I going to do that?'

Meanwhile, Hobbes was thinking, 'How come Calvin wants to grow up without me?'

* * *

**_T_**ommy yawned loudly, trying to keep his eyes open.

"Tommy?" Chuckie waved his hand in front of his best friend's face. "Tommy? Are you okay? Wake up!"

This time he shook his friend's shoulder, and Tommy quickly stirred awake. "AHHH! ELEPHANTS! GET AWAY!" he panted. When he saw that it was only Chuckie, Phil, and Lil, he sighed with relief.

"You didn't sleep very well last night, did you Tommy." Phil stated.

Tommy yawned even louder this time. "N-No. Ever since Danny said we're going back to the zoo tomorrow I haven't been able to sleep!"

Lil sighed. "I haven't been able to sleep well neither."

"Me neither!" Phil exclaimed.

"I'm too ascared to fall asleep too!" Chuckie added.

Phil sighed. "Maybe we should just tell Danny what's going on!"

"No, Phil!" Chuckie waved his arms in front of him for emphasis. "Don't you members what Angelica said?"

"He's right, Phil." Tommy replied. "Danny will be really upset if we tells him about the elephants." He yawned once more before dosing off again.

Tommy only got two more minutes of sleep before a slamming sound startled him awake again. "W-What?" He glanced up to see Calvin and Sam standing in front of them. "Oh. H-Hi'ya, Calvin. Hi'ya, Sam."

Sam was staring at Tommy with a concerned expression on her face. "Are you alright, Tommy? You look kind of… tired."

Tommy forced a grin on his face. "I'm f-fine, Sam!" He yawned. "I just didn't get much sleep last night!"

"How come?"

"Bad dreams."

"Oh. Well, I hope you sleep well tonight, Tommy!"

"T-Thanks, Sam!"

"You're welcome!"

Calvin grinned. "We were going to ask you if you want to come with us to the zoo, but you guys look kind of wiped out, so…"

Chuckie nodded. "We understand. You guys have fun!"

"Okay. You too."

With that, the two of them stepped outside.

* * *

**_"Y_**ou mean to tell me that you didn't even bother to tell me the zoo is closed today?" Sam exclaimed. "What were you thinking?"

Calvin refrained himself from rolling his eyes. "I was _thinking_ that you would freak out because we're sneaking on closed grounds during construction time! Besides," he added, "all we need to do is climb that side fence over here."

Sam glanced at him. "You do know there's the possibility that we're going to get grounded for life because of this, right?"

Calvin nodded. "If it means saving the tigers from near extinction, then it'll totally be worth it!"

Sam grinned, now determined. "Well, okay then! Just making sure!"

Calvin laughed, as they approached the fence. "You climb first. I'll give you a boost."

Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, so just because I'm a girl, it means I need a _boost_ to get over a fence?"

"Uh-, I-,"

"Forget it." She grinned. "I can climb it easily. Meet you on the other side."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Big Protest**

**_ "H_**ey, guys!" Danny exclaimed as he, Hobbes, and Susie entered the Pickles' home. "Have you seen-," He paused when he saw his playmate's tired face. "Tommy, are you okay? You look sleepy."

Hobbes's eyes widened. "It isn't just him, Danny! Chuckie, Phil, and Lil all look a bit tired too!"

Danny was now concerned as he glanced at the other babies faces. "What's going on, you guys?" He leaned down by them. "You know, you guys were acting strange a few days ago, and now I think it's gone on _way_ too far. Start talking."

Tommy glanced at all of his friends worriedly. The babies shrugged. After all, Tommy was the leader of the babies. Therefore, he made the decisions of the group. He sighed. When Danny started talking in that tone, he knew he meant serious business. Besides, Tommy wasn't sure he could take the pressure of hiding about what he was feeling and all of those elephant nightmares anymore.

He sighed, and started, "Well, Danny, you see-,"

But he was suddenly cut off by Mrs. Pickles shrieking in fright. "Oh, my goodness! Stu! Call Mr. and Mrs. Manson! Quickly!"

Danny's heart lurched. Was Sam in trouble? He, Susie, Hobbes, and the babies all rushed into the kitchen where Didi Pickles was taking deep breaths.

"What's going on?" he exclaimed. "Is Sam in trouble?"

Didi, being the caring mom she was, said, "There's nothing to worry about, Danny."

"Mrs. Pickles, I'm five! I know when something's wrong! What's going on?" Danny wasn't trying to be rude, but he _had_ to make sure Sam was all right.

Soon, after some persuading, Didi finally moved out of the way of the television so Danny could see what was going on. He gasped at what he saw.

Calvin and Sam were sitting on top of the tigers' cage, their feet dangling off of the edge!

* * *

**_"S_**o, _that's_ why Calvin wasn't wanting us around!" Hobbes exclaimed. "He was trying to save the tigers, and didn't want to get in trouble for it!"

Danny, who was entering the zoo along with the camera crews from the local news and his friends' frantic parents and kids, nodded slowly. "And Sam being all for the environment, Calvin convinced her to help. It makes _perfect_ sense!"

"You're just saying that because you're glad Calvin and Sam aren't falling all over each other!"

"Says the tiger who was afraid of losing his best friend!"

"Okay. I deserved that." But Hobbes was smiling at him.

* * *

**_T_**he babies weren't happy that they were going back to the zoo where those awful elephants were. In fact, they were extremely scared. Especially since they were going to have to pass them when they exited the zoo later.

But, Tommy thought about this differently. "We're here to help Calvin and Sam, you guys!" he exclaimed, as his parents were quickly pushing him and the rest of the babies in their four-person stroller. "And that's what we're gonna do!" He quickly suppressed a yawn as he said it.

Chuckie nodded. "I guess you're right, Tommy."

"Let's do it!" Phil and Lil exclaimed eagerly.

Tommy grinned boldly at his friends. "Okay, then babies! Hang on to your diapies! We're going in!"

* * *

**_"W_**hat do we want?" Calvin shouted.

"Tigers!" Sam yelled.

"Where do we want them?"

"Here!"

The removal of the tigers was supposed to take place two hours ago. But, thanks to Calvin and Sam, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. After all, these tigers had belonged to this zoo for as long as they could remember. No way were they going to give up on them now! Not for the angry adults who were going to tear the cage down!

"Come on, kids!" a fat man yelled up to them. "I've got to go demolish a building a few blocks from here in an hour!"

Sam, who was holding a megaphone in her left hand asked, "If you do, will you promise not to take the tigers away from here?"

The man sighed. "Sorry kids. I've got strict orders from my boss."

"Then nothing doing."

The two friends continued their chant. A few people joined in at some points. Not very many though. After all, most of them were adults, and were wondering why two young kids were sitting up on top of the tigers' cage in the first place.

"SAMANTHA!"

"Oh, great." Sam whispered to herself as she saw her parents storming up to the tiger pits along with Calvin's parents, her friends, and their parents as well.

"YOU GET DOWN HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT YOUNG LADY!" her mom yelled up to her.

"YOU TOO CALVIN!" his mom glared.

Calvin quickly took the megaphone from Sam, and said, "Not until we've reached an agreement."

"What agreement?" another construction man called.

"The tigers stay, we go."

"Sorry, kid."

"Alright, then! We stay!"

The adults groaned. Well, all of them except for the film crews of course, who had started recording ever since they got to the zoo.

Susie, who was watching her friends anxiously, turned to Danny. "What are we going to do?" she exclaimed. "Our friends are up there!"

Danny shook his head. "I have no idea."

Tommy, who was quietly watching the commotion, turned to his playmate. "Shouldn't we _do_ something?"

"I don't think there's anything _we_ can do, Tommy."

Chuckie's eyes suddenly widened as he glanced over to his left. "Well, they'd better save the tigers soon. There's a fireman over there!"

Danny glanced over to see that Chuckie was right. A fireman was rushing toward the scene, with two others carrying a ladder.

"Oh, no!" Danny exclaimed, running toward the tigers' cage. If the firemen took Calvin and Sam down, they were _never_ going to save the tigers! "Sam! Calvin!"

Sam stopped chanting for a moment, and glanced downward. "Danny?"

"Yeah!" he called. "There are firemen coming to get you down!"

"Firemen?" Calvin groaned. "Oh, no!"

Sam glanced down at Danny. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know!" he replied. "But you'd better think of something quick! They're getting closer!"

Calvin was thinking frantically. There had to be something he could-, Suddenly, a light bulb went on in his head. "Make Susie see!"

"What?"

"Make Susie see!"

It took Danny a few seconds before he finally got what Calvin was trying to say. "I'll be right back!" he exclaimed.

* * *

**_"W_**ell?" Susie asked, when Danny came running back. "What did they say?"

Danny took a deep breath, then replied, "Calvin knows a way to save the tigers before the firemen get here. But, I'm gonna need your help!"

Susie raised an eyebrow. "Me?" she asked, smiling. "Calvin's never asked for _my_ help before!"

"Well, now he needs it more than ever." Danny turned to the babies. "Do you guys want to help me help Susie?"

"We're ready for anything, Danny!" Tommy exclaimed eagerly.

"That's the spirit! Now," Danny continued, "babies, you guys try to make Susie see Hobbes for who he really is. She can't see him like we can. So, you guys need to show her how to communicate with him."

"What are you gonna do, Danny?" Phil asked.

"I'm going to try and prevent the firemen from getting to Calvin and Sam as much as I possibly can."

"How?" Chuckie questioned.

"I don't know." He dashed toward the tiger pits once more. "But, hopefully I'll figure out something." he mumbled to himself.

* * *

**_ D_**anny walked determinedly toward the firemen, hoping his parents weren't watching him. He knew he was going to get in huge trouble for getting in the adults' way, but he had to do this. He wanted to. His friends needed his help, and he was willing to risk anything to do so.

Danny took a deep breath before beginning his now carefully thought out plan. "Hi, Mr. Fireman, sir!"

"I'm sorry, kid." the clean-shaven, uniformed firefighter said. "I can't talk now. Those kids up there are in danger!"

'Yeah.' Danny thought. 'Sitting up in the same spot for two hours. _Some_ danger.' But instead, he said, "But, I'm such a _huge_ fan! You guys get to put out all of those fires all of the time! You guys are heroes!"

"Well," the man said modestly, "I wouldn't say heroes, but-,"

"Well, I do!" Danny pulled a pencil and notepad from his pocket. "Can I have your autograph?"

* * *

**_ "C_**'mon, Susie!" Tommy exclaimed. "Just start talking to Hobbes!"

"But-," Susie started.

"What's wrong?" Chuckie asked.

"Hobbes is just a…tiger."

"Well, what else is he apposed to be?" Phil questioned.

Susie sighed. "You guys aren't getting it! I'm scared to death! Calvin and Sam are going to get into so much trouble, and all because of them trying to save something they care about!"

She glanced over at the tiger pits where the tigers were roaming happily. Roaming, playing, eating, cleaning themselves…

Susie growled. "WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY?!" She sat down on the ground, and burst into tears.

The babies glanced at each other, then back at Susie sadly as she continued to cry. They noticed she was hugging Hobbes tightly, and Hobbes was hugging her back, trying to calm her down.

"There, there." he murmured. "Everything is going to be alright, Susie. Don't cry." Hobbes knew that she couldn't hear him, but he still had to try.

Susie sniffed. "I know, Hobbes. It's just _so_ unfair! Calvin and Sam are just trying to do what's right! I just don't know what to do."

Lil grinned. "Susie!" she exclaimed. "You can see Hobbes!"

Susie glanced up at the smiling tiger who was staring down at her. "You're right!" She hugged Hobbes tightly. "Now, I can see why Calvin is always carrying you around! You _are_ real! You really, really are!"

The six friends smiled, glad that their two friends were finally talking to each other.

* * *

**_ "A_**lright, kid!" the clean-shaven fireman said, annoyed. "You got autographs from all the men in the fire department! Now, you've got to get out of the way!"

Danny gulped in panic. What was he going to do, now? "B-But sir, I wanted to get some autographs for my friends too, and my-,"

"Sorry kid. But we can't waste anymore time. We need to get those kids down from that cage _now_." With that, the fireman lightly pushed Danny to his right, and he and the other two firemen with the ladder followed.

Now Danny was _really_ in trouble. And when he was really in trouble he went to his last resort. "SAM! CALVIN! _RUN_!"

* * *

**_ S_**am, who had heard Danny yelling her name, glanced over to her right. "Oh, man." she said, tapping on Calvin's left shoulder and pointing at the firemen heading in their direction.

Calvin's eyes widened. "We've got to get out of here."

"How?" Sam asked.

"The same way we came up." Calvin answered. "We'll slide down one of the posts."

Sam nodded. "Okay. Then what?"

"I don't know. We'll figure that out once we get down. But, we've got to run. _Fast._"

"Okay."

"I'll take the document I told you to hold on to."

"But, Calvin, you'll get in trouble then! Not me!"

"Exactly. I need to distract the adults while you go and get some help."

"And what kind of help would _that_ be?"

"I don't know!" Calvin exclaimed. "Zoo workers, the police, anybody! Just go and do this!"

"But, Calvin, what about you?"

"Don't worry about me. The firemen will get me down by the time you get back here with somebody."

"But, what if I don't get back in time?"

"That's why I'm giving the document to you! You've got the proof we need to save the tigers!"

"But-,"

"Sam, you can do this!"

"But, I just don't want to leave you like this!"

"Forget about me!"

"But-,"

"Go, Sam!"

"But-,"

"Go!"

Sam sighed, finally giving in. She quietly snuck toward the back of the cage, and slid down the post. She ran toward the fence, climbed it, and ran down the street toward the police station. She _really_ hoped she could do this.

* * *

**_ "H_**ey, buddy!" Calvin yelled, cupping his hands over his mouth. "Remember _me_?"

A balding, brown haired, slightly overweight man with a slight comb over glanced up at Calvin in horror. The six-year-old was holding up a rolled up piece of paper in his left hand. The man glared at him. "Get down here right this instant, young man!"

"Calvin!" his dad cried. "Do what the nice man says!"

Calvin rolled his eyes, and without warning, slid down one of the poles around the cage. The adults gasped while the tigers stared at him wonderingly. "You want me?" he asked. "Come and get me!" He then ran deeper into the zoo.

* * *

**_ "W_**hat's going on with Calvin?" Lil asked, worriedly, after the big scene.

"Since when _isn't_ there anything going on with Calvin?" Susie asked.

"She's gotta point." Phil pointed out to his twin sister.

But, Hobbes wasn't in the mood for any conversation. "Come on, you guys! We've got to follow the crowd! My best friend is in trouble!"

Tommy nodded determinedly. "Hobbes is right you guys! C'mon!"

"R-Right." Chuckie said nervously.

Susie grinned, running to the other side of the four-baby stroller with Hobbes. "Now I can see why Calvin loves going on adventures! This is exciting!"

With that, the six of them were following Calvin along with the adults.

* * *

**_ C_**alvin was now hiding behind the elephant cages, breathing hard. Calvin didn't mind running. After all, he was outdoors all of the time. It was the thrill of excitement that was getting to him.

He suddenly went silent as he heard the crowd of people running past the elephants. Should he take a peek? He decided to wait until the crowd died down. Better safe than sorry.

A few minutes passed before Calvin decided it was safe to have a quick peek. His heart pounding, he glanced past the right side of the cage. Nobody was there. He sighed with relief. Sure he had to lie to Sam about what he was going to be doing, but once she got there everything would be set straight.

Calvin turned back around, and gasped. His heart pounded hard against his chest again.

"I knew you'd be hiding here. It's kind of hard to hide anyplace else. Trust me. _I_ know." The man with the comb over stepped out of the shadows.

Calvin was caught so much by surprise that he landed on his bottom and started backing away slowly. "W-What do you want with me?"

"Oh, you know _exactly_ what I want." The man held out his left hand. "The document. Give it to me."

Calvin glanced down at the piece of paper in his left hand. He had forgotten he had had it. But he couldn't give it to this man! He was evil! He didn't deserve it!

"I said to hand it over, Calvin!" the man growled. "If that _is_ your real name!"

Calvin wanted no more than to run out from behind the elephant cages. But if he did, the adults would find him. Not to mention he wouldn't be able to save the tigers because he'd probably be grounded for life. But, maybe it was too late to save the tigers anyway. He turned his head away, shut his eyes, and held the document out toward the man.

The man smirked as he snatched the piece of paper out of his hand. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "Finally! I caught you red handed you little brat! And now," he laughed, "I finally, _finally_ have my document back!" He chuckled as he unrolled the piece of paper. "Now, I can finally get my-," He cut off, a horrified look on his face.

"It-It's nothing but a blank piece of paper!" he gasped. "B-But, h-how-," He stopped stuttering, and glared at the six-year-old still staring worriedly up at him.

"YOU!" the man snarled. "WHERE IS MY DOCUMENT?"

"Um," Calvin stuttered, a sheepish smile sliding across his face, "April Fools?"

Unfortunately, the man wasn't buying it. "WHERE IS IT?"

"Technically," Calvin stated nervously, "I _know_ where it is being _kept_, but I _don't_ know where it is _right now_."

"LISTEN KID!" the man yelled, stepping toward him. "IF YOU DON'T TELL ME WHERE THAT DOCUMENT IS, I'LL-,"

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Calvin whipped his head around to see Susie glaring at the man who was about to come after him. Hobbes and the babies were behind her, with terrified expressions on their faces.

The man sneered at Susie. "Aww, how cute!" He glanced back at Calvin. "Your little _girlfriend's _come to rescue you!" He laughed. "Well, I'm not going to let that happen!"

Calvin and Susie normally would've made a retort saying that they weren't together, but they were too frightened to say anything.

Calvin sneered at the man. "Spaceman Spiff refuses to listen to anything you say, Zortnog!"

* * *

**_ S_**pacewoman Clara stood frozen in fear in the depths of space, on an inhabited planet. Or so that was what she thought. Spaceman Spiff was staring up at the evil alien Zortnog in fear. He was talking in some weird language that she couldn't decipher.

All of the planet's creatures were staring at the commotion in their cages. They didn't seem like they thought anything was wrong. But, behind her, Spacetiger Hoover and the Spacebabies Tarry, Kevin, Jerry, and Mary were staring up in fear.

Spiff's, Clara's, and Hoover's space blasters were useless on this planet. And luckily, Zortnog hadn't even thought of pulling out his yet. What were they going to do?

Spacewoman Clara whispered into Spacetiger Hoover's ear.

"What?!" he whispered when he heard what Clara had said.

"I have to, Hoover." she whispered back. "It's the only way we can save Spiff!"

"But, what about the adults?"

"At this point, I think Spiff would be grateful if the adults butted in for once."

Hoover nodded. "I guess so."

"Good. Wish me luck." The next thing you know, Zortnog was tackled to the ground.

* * *

**_T_**he man growled under the weight of Susie. Who knew a little girl could have so much strength? "GET OFF OF ME!" he yelled.

"I don't think so, Zortnog!" Susie exclaimed. "You're not going anywhere!"

Calvin grinned. Finally, Susie had some imagination in her!

"I don't think so either."

Susie glanced over to see Danny and Sam along with all of the adults and a couple of police officers standing behind them.

"Boy, are we glad to see you!" Calvin exclaimed as Danny helped him up.

"Yeah." Danny replied. "It looks like we made it here just in time. I'm glad to see you guys are all in one piece."

"Excuse me." a black officer said to Danny. "Could you please tell me what's going on here?"

"Well, I can't exactly tell you the whole story." Danny explained. "But, I'm sure my friends Sam and Calvin here can explain the whole thing."

"Gladly." Sam smiled at all of the adults. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, may I present to you, Mr. Alan Martin. Also known as, the boss of the whole zoo." She pointed to the man Susie was still sitting on.

"Yes." Mr. Martin said politely. "That would be me. Now, might I ask what is going on? Why is this little girl sitting on top of me?"

"Like you don't know!" Calvin exclaimed. "We came into your office yesterday to ask why you were shutting down the tiger pits and if you could reconsider. As we figured, you said people weren't looking at the tigers much anymore and no, you couldn't reconsider since they were already going to be moved to a new location."

"Your phone rang," Sam continued, "and you left the office to answer it. _That's_ when we noticed the papers on your desk Mr. Martin. One of them was the document that I happen to have right here! It says the tigers here were being watched here a bunch, but you weren't feeding them enough food or giving them enough water because you wanted to save all of your money. So, your people said if you didn't get the tigers more food and water, they would be kicked out of the zoo."

"Being the greedy man you are," Calvin added, "you couldn't risk that. So, you told your people you would give the tigers away to a new location. They gave you ten thousand dollars to do it. Then you called up a bunch of your goony friends to have them move the tigers for you today. But, you don't care about the tigers at all!"

"This is ridiculous!" Mr. Martin exclaimed. "Officers, tell young Calvin and Sam here that they're telling a bunch of lies!"

"No, no." a white officer said. "Go on kids. I kind of like to hear this story."

Sam smiled. "Thank you, officer. Now, where were we? Oh yes, the tigers were planned to be taken to a place where they would have no food, hardly any water, no shelter, and the perfect place to be hit by oncoming traffic! Then you were going to double cross your friends and keep all of the money for yourself!"

The adults and the babies gasped.

"Lies!" Mr. Martin yelled. "All lies!"

"Oh, really?" Calvin chuckled, taking the document from Sam's hand. "Then how come when I compared this signature on the document with this one of the letters you wrote to your goony friends, the handwriting looks _exactly_ the same? Your signature is at the bottom of the letter!"

"Uh…I…er…"

"I think we've heard enough kids." the black officer grinned. "Cuff him, Larry!"

Larry pulled out his handcuffs, and placed them on Mr. Martin's wrists. While he told the man of his rights, Danny turned to Calvin and Sam. "So, I can see why you guys were sneaking off all of the time yesterday."

Calvin and Sam nodded.

"What did you think we were doing?" Calvin asked. "Making out or something?"

"Yeah!" Sam laughed. "As if!"

Danny chuckled nervously. "Of- Of course not! W-Why would you think I would've thought that?" He laughed some more while Calvin and Sam stared at him in puzzlement. "L-Look, I'm going to go and see how Hobbes and the babies are doing for a minute."

He walked off toward Hobbes, a blush creeping up his face. He placed his face into Hobbes's soft tummy. "That was awkward." he mumbled.

Hobbes just laughed. "There, there Danny! It's all over now! Besides, I think Calvin's into someone else at the moment."

Danny lifted his head up in surprise. "Really? Who?"

"Well, don't tell him I told you this, but-," he turned Danny around to see Calvin and Susie having a funny conversation. Or at least it was from what Danny could see.

"How come you didn't tell me this earlier?"

"I tried, but Calvin and Sam interrupted our conversation."

"Oh."

Hobbes chuckled. "And don't worry. I won't tell anybody."

"Tell anybody what?"

Hobbes rolled his eyes. "Never mind."

Danny suddenly grinned. "Hey, babies! I've got an idea! Why don't we go and see the elephants for a bit?"

The babies' eyes suddenly widened. "NO!" they screamed.

"Why not?"

Tommy hesitated, then said, "We didn't want you to do the same thing that happened to Bob."

"Bob?" Danny raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. "Who's Bob?"

"We know you don't likes to talk about him much," Chuckie said nervously, "because he wouldn't goes with you to the playground one time."

"What are you guys talking about?" Danny asked.

"Angelica said the elephants would squish us!" Lil exclaimed.

"And we didn't want you to get upset with us if we didn't goes to the zoo with you." Phil added.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Angelica told you this?"

The babies nodded.

Danny sighed. "I'm gonna have a _long_ talk with her the next time I see her." he mumbled. "Babies, the elephants won't hurt you! Angelica lied about all of that stuff!"

"Even about Bob?" Tommy asked.

Danny nodded. "Even about Bob."

The babies sighed with relief.

"Next time you guys have a problem," Danny continued, "come and talk to me. I promise I won't get mad at you."

The babies nodded.

"We promless, Danny!" Tommy exclaimed.

Danny grinned at his playmate. "Now, come on! Let's go see some elephants!"

The babies cheered as Danny pushed them along in their four-person stroller.

* * *

**_A_**while later, Calvin and Hobbes were lying on Calvin's bed, bored to death. Calvin was grounded for a month for what happened earlier, along with Sam. Danny was grounded for two weeks for helping Calvin and Sam escape earlier. Susie was also grounded for two weeks for tackling a man to the ground.

"I'm bored." Calvin stated.

"What else is new?" Hobbes asked, grinning.

"Sorry." Calvin sighed. "No going outside for a full four weeks." He smiled at his friend. "At least I've got you old buddy."

Hobbes looked sad for a moment. "Yeah."

Calvin glanced at him. "What's wrong? I thought you were happy. I saved the tigers for your third anniversary present, Susie is now number nineteen in the ghost group, not to mention that we're _semi_ good friends now too. So, what's going through your head?"

Hobbes sighed once more. Then he said, "I'm happy about all of that stuff. It's just that…" he hesitated, then said, "…I'm just wondering how long this is going to last."

"How long what is going to last?"

"All of this." Hobbes spread his arms out for emphasis. "You know, you and me. Us going on adventures, talking, all of it. I just don't want to lose you, Calvin. When you and Sam were sneaking off to help save the tigers, I thought you guys were going to be like this everyday. I thought you were growing up without me."

Calvin thought about this for a moment, then chuckled. "You know, Hobbes, you really shouldn't worry about that."

"How come?"

"Because," Calvin stated, "no matter what happens in my life, no matter if I'm six, ten, or even fifteen, no matter what struggles I have, or how much life gets to me, I know one thing for sure."

"And what's that?" Hobbes asked.

Calvin grinned. "I'll always be looking for you. My best friend in the whole wide world."

Hobbes thought about that for a moment, and grinned. After all, he liked the sound of that.

* * *

**Author's Note: THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY YOU GUYS! :D There's still one more chapter to go! It will be a heart warmer! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: This last chapter is based off of a fan art picture of Calvin and Hobbes called "The Future: Don't put away your childish things. Save them for your child." Thank you to the fan artist who created this work of fan art for giving me the inspiration to write this chapter. And yes, there is a similar story on this website where Calvin grows up to become a comic book artist; but I had the idea of Calvin becoming a comic book artist before I read that fanfiction story (It's very well written. If you happen to come across it, please let me know! :) ). I do not own this piece of fan art or ****_Calvin and Hobbes_****. **

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Future?** 22 Years Later…

**_T_**wenty-eight-year old Calvin sat with his notepad and pencil in hand. This letter was important to him. If he didn't write this down on paper, he didn't know how he would ever be able to say it out loud. He sighed, and glanced out the window. The sun was shining in gold streaks through his window. If he could draw seven complicated comic strips a week, then he surely could write a letter.

Suddenly, the door creaked open. A tall, slender woman with short brown hair peeked in. "Hey, Calvin. I was just wondering if you wanted something to eat? I'm making Melissa her lunch."

Calvin grinned at his wife. "Not right now, Susie. Thank you. I'm kind of busy at the moment."

"Oh, okay. Another comic strip?"

"Actually, no. It's a letter to…" He broke off trying to find the words.

Susie smiled. "Is it time?"

Calvin nodded. "I think so."

"Well, good luck then."

"Thanks."

With that, Susie shut the door behind her.

Calvin sighed once more, and closed his eyes. What was he going to write? He glanced outside, the sunlight hitting his face once more before inspiration hit him. He glanced down at the piece of paper in front of him and started writing.

_Time flies by fast doesn't it? It seems like just yesterday we were lying on my bed staring up at the roof being grounded for who knows what? Now, I'm 28 years old, I'm a cartoonist, I have a beautiful wife, and a wonderful daughter. Speaking of which, you've seen her before. The other day you were saying that she looks like Susie but she acts a lot like me. Which, like always, you're right. She does._

_ But, here's the thing. I'm getting older, my job is getting more and more stressful, and it's kind of hard to squeeze our daily conversations together into my schedule anymore. It's not that I don't love you or anything. I do. It's just that, I've been too busy to talk to you anymore. Besides yesterday, I mean. You know how much I love talking to you._

_ But the thing is, my childhood's over. Melissa's has just begun. But I promised I wouldn't forget you either. And I never will._

_ Best friends come and go, but you never left my side. For that, Hobbes, I'm setting you free. You belong with Melissa now. But, I assure you, I have not left your side. I'm still going to be around, just like you were for me._

_ Teach Melissa everything you taught me, for she is my sunshine, and you are her protector. Please take care of her, Hobbes, for she will take care of you. I will miss you old buddy. Just, don't ever forget me, because I'll never stop loving you. I'll always be looking for you._

_Love,_

_ Calvin_

Calvin wiped a tear away from his face as Hobbes sat up next to him. "Calvin, what's wrong?"

Hobbes rarely ever saw Calvin cry, and when he did, it was usually for a good reason.

Calvin sniffed, then handed Hobbes the note he had just finished writing. "I didn't know how to say it, so I wrote it down for you."

Hobbes slowly took the note, wondering why Calvin was so emotional all of a sudden. As he finished reading it, tears started forming in his eyes too. "Thank you, Calvin." He hugged his best friend one last time. "I'll always be looking for you too."

Calvin smiled.

It was then Calvin took Hobbes out to meet Melissa. She loved Hobbes right away, and Calvin was thrilled.

"Come on, Hobbes!" Melissa exclaimed. "Let's go exploring!"

Hobbes laughed. "Okay! Let's go!"

As they ran into the woods together, Calvin waved to Melissa and her tiger Hobbes. Hobbes glanced wearily back, smiled, then said, "Thank you, Calvin. I'm glad you did this for us."

Calvin grinned. "You're welcome. I'm glad I did too." he replied.

Hobbes smiled his thanks once more, before Melissa called, "Come on, Hobbes! I found some cool looking bugs!"

"Oh, boy! I'm coming!" He ran off toward his new friend, looking forward to all of the adventures they would have together.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


End file.
